Chapter 7 #2
The nature of his thoughts around Taylor, however, was a million miles away from the memories of his loving, feisty, forthright grandmother.
The truth was, after having dinner with her the previous evening, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind—a situation that hadn’t improved when they’d had breakfast together this morning.
If she’d been a song, he’d never be able to get the tune out of his head. What the hell was wrong with him?
Do not answer that question.
Although he could easily drive through to Tucson without stopping, Rhys figured it wouldn’t hurt to stop off somewhere for a break and put some gas in the pickup.
He wouldn’t mind stretching his legs, and he could always use a cup of coffee.
Taylor probably wouldn’t say no to a dose of caffeine, too.
Besides. lunchtime wasn’t far off, and he did, after all, have a woman to feed.
“Taylor? Are you awake?”
She yawned and stretched. “Yes, of course I am. Everything okay?”
She didn’t fool him. “We’re about ten miles from a convenient place to stop for gas and something to eat. Are you hungry?”
She made a noncommittal sound. “Maybe. I wouldn’t mind taking a break, though, and grabbing a coffee.”
He should have put a bet on the latter. “Okay. We’ll drop off the interstate and see what we can find.”
A few minutes later, they were driving through the quiet streets of a small town that was so quiet, Rhys wondered if they’d stumbled across a ghost town until he spotted a couple of people entering a café.
“Looks as if we’ve found the only diner in town,” he observed. “Want to give it a try?”
Taylor shrugged. “Food’s food. Go for it.”
Rhys parked in the lot next to the single-story building. Ever wary, even though the streets seemed to be deserted, he constantly scanned their surroundings as they made their way to the entrance.
The savory aroma of hot spices and cooking meat made his stomach rumble.
Thanks to years of surviving ration packs and meals consisting of ingredients of unknown provenance, his bulletproof digestive system was more robust than that of the average civilian, and right now, it was doing the gastric equivalent of sitting back and rubbing its hands together in gleeful anticipation.
At the same time, about a dozen pairs of eyes swiveled in their direction and followed them to the empty booth at the end, watching them with all the keen suspicion of a community that seldom experienced strangers descending upon it.
Silence reigned for a few more seconds, then the low hum of conversation resumed as the public gaze became private once more.
Rhys handed Taylor a menu. The list of dishes wasn’t very long. “The choices seem to be somewhat… limited.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure I can find something.”
For Rhys, there was only one choice, and that was a fully loaded burger. The waitress took their orders, and after she’d delivered their food and drinks, he settled in to eat what was probably not the best burger he’d had since he moved to the US, but it did fill a hole.
“So, what happens when we get to San Diego?” Taylor asked between bites of her chicken fajita salad.
“What do you mean?”
“I know we had the conversation about visiting the beach already, but seriously, can I do things like that, or am I under house arrest? Do I have to stay inside for two weeks, or however long we have to stay there?”
That would have been his preference, but since she’d done nothing wrong, treating her like a prisoner would be a completely over-the-top solution.
“Short answer, no.” Rhys put his burger down on his plate and wiped his mouth and fingers with a napkin before taking a drink.
“I’d advise keeping a low profile, but you don’t have to stay invisible.
It doesn’t mean you’ll be going anywhere unaccompanied, though. I’ll be with you at all times.”
Taylor had just taken a drink; at his comment, she nearly choked. Rhys suspected he had narrowly avoided being sprayed with coffee. “All times?”
Where the hell had her mind gone with that reaction?
Or was it his shitty mind deliberately reading a different meaning into her words?
He decided to make light of it—or try to.
“I won’t be standing guard in the bathroom with you, if that’s what you’re worried about.
Even I have the sense to recognize there are times when it’s more prudent to maintain a distance.
” To further make his point, he gave her a half-grin and a raised eyebrow.
To his surprise, she actually chuckled. “Good to know. How’s the burger?”
He looked at the item in question and shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ve had worse. How’s your salad?”
“Same here. How long until we get to Tucson?”
“Assuming no delays, a little over two hours.”
She nodded, suddenly fascinated by the contents of her salad bowl as she pushed the food around with her fork. “How about San Diego tomorrow?”
“Around six hours, give or take.”
Taylor sighed. “Not going to lie, I wish we were heading in the opposite direction.”
“Try not to think about it too much. Even if we do end up staying in San Diego for the full two weeks, I don’t believe we’ll be there much beyond that. And if the investigation goes well, we could even be heading home ahead of schedule.”
She sat back in her seat and rolled her shoulders. “Wouldn’t that be fantastic? Strange, how we never appreciate what we have until we don’t have it anymore.”